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Published: August 28th 2008
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Commuter plane
arrival in Victoria at the end of my voyage. I'VE COME FULL CIRCLE. After six weeks of travelling old Europe, being shown around Tallinn, Rostock, Halle and Hamburg by city tour guides, I'm back at my job as Victoria Harbour Ferry skipper -- now telling tourists about my town. But things have changed. Travelling alone one cannot fail to learn about the world and about oneself. Of course, much of that will still take time to absorb and digest. What I can say is that along the way I have learned to put myself into other people's shoes, how to talk to them and to sympathize with their needs. Strangely enough I have also found such empathy in the theatre. When a director learns about the characters of a play or an actor takes on a role, they intimately learn about other people's lives. But enough about philosophizing. To conclude my blog, I shall share with you a few more tips about travelling in the two countries I have visited.
Transportation: I just love travelling by tram in the city and by train through the country. Unfortunately, since my last visit to Hamburg 20 years ago, they have eliminated streetcars in favour of buses, but they have expanded their
Provincial legislative building
as seen through the rigging of local tall ships, with harbour ferries plying their trade in the background. efficient regional train and subway systems (most of which are actually above ground). The other cities I visited have a net of buses and trams instead. In Tallinn you can buy a book of ten tickets for 90 Krooni, which translates to about 90 cents per trip. You can get these at grocery stores, supermarket customer service desks and all of the many newspaper kiosks scattered around town. Single fares can also be purchased from the drivers, but they cost more. A ticket needs to be shoved into the slot of one of the little gadget you'll find attached to stanchions on buses and trams, which will time-stamp them. At the time of my stay you couldn't use the same ticket for another bus or tram; transfers to another line required another ticket. But I'm told they were considering changing that policy.
In Rostock and Halle things are similar, although your ticket is valid for an hour of travel (1 1/2 hours if purchased from the driver) on as many trams or buses as needed. In Halle the public transit system has an office on the central market square downtown where one can purchase individual tickets, day or week
Fireworks over Ogden Point
Victoria is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the crown colony of British Columbia. Three vessels returning from Alaska have tied up for the evening at the cruise ship terminal near the city's harbour entrance. passes. I bought a couple of three-day Hamburg Cards for 18 Euros each when I arrived at that city's central station information centre. It gives you unlimited travel on buses, subways and trains as well as discounts at dozens of tours, theatres, restaurants, shops, museums and other attractions that charge an entrance fee. I used it only for two discounted tickets outside of my daily bus and train fares -- a guided tour of the city hall and a ticket to "Othello" -- but the convenience of being able to hop onto the various modes of transportation alone, without having to fumble for change or waiting in line at the ticket dispensers was certainly worth it to me.
People: In Halle more than one person told me -- in a sort of self-deprecating way, I suppose -- that people in their hometown have a reputation of being dull and unaccommodating. Well, I had the good fortune not to meet any of these. Instead, my encounters were with friendly and helpful folks. I suppose it all comes down to one's own attitude and approach when speaking with your fellow human beings. Even if you don't know the language, a smile accompanying a polite "Excuse me, do you speak English?" (preferably in the native tongue) does wonders. Just so you know, in Estonian you'd ask, "Vabandage, kas te räägite inglise keelt?" (
vaa-baan-daagay, gaas tay
ray-geetay
in-glee-say gelt?) and in German it's "Entschuldigung, spechen Sie Englisch?" (end-
chool-dee-goong,
shpre-shen zee
ang-lish. Emphasis is on the bold face syllables.
If you travel to these two European countries -- one in the old east, the other in the west -- I wish you as much enjoyment as I have experienced. My final advice is this: Don't rush it but take your time wherever you go and whatever you do.
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